Someone to die for
by Vermilion eyes
Summary: Haunting memories,traumatic reality.What does it take to break Selene?An ancestor,mortality,another vampire,an inquisitor? Chapter 3 is ready.
1. Chapter 1

**_CHAPTER 1_**

**When violence drowns all virtue **

After Michael has been bitten by Selene she understands that her niece survived the night her family was slaughtered. She became something different from a vampire, lycan or hybrid and her bloodline continues till today. Her descendant has inherited a deadly virus that's been ending the lives of her ancestors prematurely for the past centuries. Jasmine might be the only key to the so desired peace and justice but at what price?

Author's note: This is my first fanfic and I'm curiouse to see what you think so read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Underworld,any of it's characters,plots,etc.

There is bad language in this chapter but I think you can handle it.

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The underground was moving fast and was making Jasmine feel worse than she already did! The world was spinning in disregard of her desire to vomit her insides out. She was dreaming of a clean toilet to puke in.

_"Curses, why did I drink that much? Fuck me why am I such a constantly proving herself masochist?" _she thought practically curled at her seat.

There was nobody else in the train compartment except for her friends and a gorgeous guy that she just couldn't stop staring at.

_"I've seen him before, but where? There is just something about him!"_

Jason was teasing Karol and considering how drunk she was she was really buying it.

"You guys are great to watch. If you are not fighting, you are arguing. Maybe the only time you two are acting a bit like a couple is when you've joined forces against someone else!"

"Shut up, Mint! You are not a pretty sight either... at the moment..."

"Karol is right. Besides, our relationship is based on honesty and if you can't yell the truth at your significant other then what's the point of being together, do you get the drift, Mint? Mint, where are you going?" He looked at her as she stood up with some effort, clearly disappointed, because he was used to being the centre of attention. Then murmured with a dirty smile:

"That almost hurt my feelings".

"Jason quit the philosophy crap, darling, you are going to miss the show. Look at Jasmine!"

Jasmine was too drunk to care and too tired to try and resist the impulse. She approached the man sitting quietly and practically fell into his lap. She made her best effort to focus and spoke in a rather strange than seductive voice.

"Hi! I'm Jasmine but you can call me Mint. You look familiar and d... dangerous!" the last word troubled her with the pronunciation a bit but in the end she managed to say it correctly.

"I am dangerous." the man sighed. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes I am. Too comfortable. I feel like I've seen you before."

"Me too." he paused and then said looking in her eyes. "Now tell Santa what you want for Christmas."

"You know that joke might have worked if it weren't the beginning of March. But since it's my birthday," she put her arms around him "I'll take the opportunity. I want to know your name."

"Michael."

He smiled and Jasmine noticed that he just tried to act calmly but it was obvious that he was actually nervous and tense. They shook hands. He had a really tight grip. It even caused her pain to shake his sweaty palm. There was something in his eyes that gave her a chill down the spine.

She didn't like the feeling and tried to shake it off by saying

"Hi. I'm not usually like that Mike ..."

"You are really wasted! And that's my stop..."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Stay, we are just getting to know each other!" The girl was acting as if somebody was about to take a valuable possession from her.

"Actually I already have someone but I'm really flattered." Michael smiled softly. He stood up so quickly that she didn't have time to react at all, not even to say goodbye as the door slid behind him.

"It never would've worked anyway. And yet such a fucking pity!" she said in a neglectful tone while feeling a slightly nasty sharp and growing pain flowing through her hole body. Starting to gasp for air she fell on the floor.

'Honey is everything OK?"

"I feel like a slut."

"I mean besides that..."

"How do you think she is? She dried the damn bar."

"Drop dead, Jason, she didn't drink that much! She's just not used to drinking. I'm not letting her have a fit on her 18 birthday!"

"The liquor monsterrrr!" he roared.

"Honestly, you are such a pathetic loser sometimes!" Karol kneeled on the floor after punching Jason in the stomach and took Jasmine in her arms as she collapsed. Mint's lousy attempt to joke didn't calm her friend because Karol knew about the nightmares Jasmine' had been having lately, the black-outs and the panic attacks and now it was obvious that something was terribly wrong.

Suddenly Jasmine started feeling a freezing cold and began to slowly slip into panic. She could no longer move. Paralyzed, but seized with convulsions she couldn't even scream when the darkness consumed her. Closing her eyes and slipping into the vision was even more painful, but with the promising thought that this will soon end.

It was complete chaos all around. It was night and there was a terrible storm. The bedroom was big and everything was wet as the rain was coming in from the two wide open windows. It was very slippery and Mint had to be careful not to lose her balance. The only light was coming from the lightings and from time to time she could see the scene revealing in front of her with its full horror. A small girl's body was lying on the floor. The poor thing was killed in an incredibly cruel way. Someone was screaming, yes a woman. Her desperate screams echoed in Jasmine's head turning the noises almost into an unbearable torture. Somehow she knew it was her who was going to be the next victim. A flash of light for a moment, enough for her to see the figure of a tall man approach her. She tried to run through the door but he managed to catch her. Struggling she noticed how tiny she was, too tiny to break free. How did she get that young? She was a child barely 6 years old. Jasmine had never felt such fear and it was growing with every moment. She felt the stranger tighten the grip, his fangs piercing her soft skin. It was like hundreds of heated needles stinging her whole body at once. She screamed.

"Mom! Mom, where's Selene? Anybody? No!" She didn't know the name she was crying nearly choking with despair, the room wasn't familiar either and everything was strangely ancient.

Then a flash of light and it was suddenly day. She was barefoot running through the forest. Running even though nothing was chasing her. A small child thought to be dead, but still alive, she couldn't stop running because it made her feel safer, it eased the pain in her mind even though it increased the agony of her body. Images started whizzing in front of her eyes, other people that she had never met, generations of children, men, women. Different places...The pictures changed so fast that she could barely keep up with what was happening. Then everything went white, then black and she fell unconscious.

The mansion was empty. It was so big that a stranger could easily get lost in it. Every room was covered with a thick layer of dust and every wall was soaked in the bloody memories of it's past owners. There were no curtains on the windows of the whole house so the morning sun could easily shine through.

In one room a man was sitting in an armchair that he had personally moved in front of the window. As a matter of fact this chair and a mattress in the corner were the only furniture in the room. Alystor sat as thoughts were racing through his mind. He stared through the open window and as the sun shone trough the clouds and on his face he didn't even blink. His short white hair and his red eyes were giving him a sinister look but there was tender sadness in his eyes that made everyone who ever met him sympathize with him. He had sat like that for almost 5 hours now and somehow he was afraid to move convinced that move would change the course of destiny. He did not like what he saw in the vision as much as he was shaken by what had come to pass. His friend was dead. Alystor had to keep the promise that he made to the dead Lucian. He had to take control of the lycan clan and unite them because if what he saw in the vision was really the future they would have to be prepared for hell itself. He stood up gracefully with a fanatic expression on his face and a single tear came down his masculine cheek as he closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. He was used to the peace and quiet, to loneliness and has chosen Selene's birth house for his sanctuary. He remembered his teacher.

"_Ah, yes, Selene." _he thought.

She tried to teach him how to be a ruthless death dealer.

"_THEY DON"T DESERVE MERCY" _

That's how she tried to calm him down after every carnage. But in his opinion violence caused violence. A magical and cursed circle from which there is no escape. She used to lose her temper easily. He thought about the warrior she was now.

_"Well, she will be pissed to see me!" _he thought and remembered how he betrayed her.

After Viktor broke the neck of the mortal that Alystor was in love with, his heart got poisoned with hatred and there was no place for loyalty anymore. His love...He knew Lucian's pain.

"Rebecca" he whispered.

He ran away and joined the lycan clan after he understood who was responsible. That bastard confessed into his face, but he was too weak to kill Viktor then. Alystor had valuable information and after nearly facing death he managed to prove his loyalty to the lycans. Maybe the only reason they didn't kill him in the first place was because they needed someone to walk in the same circles that vampires did. A spy. And yet suspicion was really strong in the beginning, so he had to prove his worth at every given chance. In the end he managed to gain their trust. Selene had always been stronger than him, strong enough for the both of them. He never regretted obeying Lucian, being his friend. But when he faced Selene he just couldn't kill her. He couldn't bear the cruelty of his actions and he thought that sparing Selene would be the redemption that he was looking for. So he ran away because nothing could ease the pain inside, nothing could erase the shame and self-pity.

He looked around trying to chase away the ghosts of his past. There were plenty of wild animals in the region and it was a perfect home for him. It was fascinating how this house had survived this long. It had been reconstructed a couple of times but all its residents had moved away after the slaughter of Selene's family before death could strike them. But today he had to leave it...The wind was blowing through the empty corridors creating a shriek that he would miss. He whispered to himself just to hear and embrace reality. His words sounded like a prophecy.

"One sees the past,

One sees the future,

But the darkness in their hearts will last until they unite against the preacher...

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	2. Past endurance

**Chapter 2**

**Past endurance**

"OK, I need you to look at me. That's it. Stay with me!"

Jasmine could feel someone shaking her gently but all she saw was blur. A woman in nurse clothing was trying to keep her awake.

"Where am I?"

"In the hospital .It's OK, you are safe."

"What time is it?"

"10 in the evening but you were unconscious for a day. Can you tell me your name?"

"Jasmine, I live with a foster family. This is ridiculous! Where are my friends?"

"You are still delusional, you need to rest."

"No, I need to see my friends and apologise for freaking them out so much."

"You mean the girl and the boy that were found in the underground."

A brief moment before Jasminе realised what she had heard.

"What the hell do you mean found?" Her blood went cold by the terrible thought.

"They were found dead, lying next to you. I'm so sorry honey were you close?"

"No, this can't be! It can't...It's just another hallucination. That's it. It's fine and I'm gonna wake up now! Simply snap out of it!" She felt sick and pathetic and alone...So alone...

"So this is not the first time you had a vision. Now calm down. It's better if you don't believe it but it's true." The woman was trying to hold Jasmine in bed." They were bled dry, the police can't explain how that happened." she continued with cruelty.

"Stop, enough!"

"What did you see? Did you feel anything strange? You can tell me."

Jasmine was hysterical she could feel her soul being torn apart. The only 2 people that really cared, that never abandoned her since they met in the foster home 4 years ago. Dead...Brutally...

"Oh, Karol, sweet Karol my best friend, my Karol. Jason, my protector... always my friend...Until the end my friends, until the end" she was saying that in a trancelike state and repeated it 3 times with a face twisted with pain.

"It should have been me! Why did this life take away everyone that I love? My mother, my great grandfather, my friends?" she asked rhetorically crying hysterically and the nurse could barely understand what she said.

"You are not...I mean...you have your foster parents. Listen to me I'm going to give you something to relax."

"Get away from me, you witch, don't touch me." Jasmine kicked the blanket and tried to jump off the bed after spotting a strange monstrous sparkle in the eyes of the nurse and a pair of sharp teeth.

"Stay still it's a big needle you don't want to poke your eye out, now do you?" She finally managed to give her the shot and was pleased when the girl finally dozed off. "That's it, calm down, save your strength ..."

The blond woman came out of the room taking off the nurse clothes and revealing an exquisite and pretentious dark blue velvet dress with green embroidery. Then she rushed to the exit and got in the car that was waiting for her outside. She sat next to the driver breathing heavily.

"You were right. It's her, Craven. I've got the results. And the virus is killing her faster than you diagnosed. I'm afraid that she might not live to her next birthday."

"She is dying faster then her mother. Did we break her?" he turned abruptly towards her.

"She is absolutely desperate. She was sobbing uncontrollably before I dosed her."

"Good, very good. She will run straight to Selene! I'm pleased with the results, Erica. But we have to hurry up. We don't know when the brat will drop dead! You know what to do..."

"Is it really necessary?"

"Since when do you care? Besides Ambrosi will sooner or later hunt them down and you can't blame us for sparing him and us a lot of inconvenience!"

"Just because I'm a vampire does not mean that I don't have feelings. I too am capable of feeling love... and hate and I have conscience which tells me this is low even for you." There was sadness in her eyes.

"Spare me the dramatic introduction to your personal life. Are you gonna do it or not?"

"I...ahh.." she hesitated.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I will, there is no need to shout! I will."

"We have to convince a lot of really sharp vampires that I didn't poison Marcus, that it was dear Selene. That means that there is no place for mistakes! Our fucking lives are at stake here!" He turned to the back seats and barked" Tie her up to the bed and guard her! Be careful she is very strong and knows this and that!"

"And she scratches badly, too." Erica added.

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Selene was lying in the bed made of hay, her hands wrapped tight around her improvised pillow of a ragged blanket, as if she was holding the sparkle of her life. The light of the gas lamp on the floor was caressing her skin, softening her features and adding a new expression to her face that she didn't let anyone see in her -helplessness.

Digging into the past is forbidden...That's how their kind remained sane .A new made vampire is still tormented by feelings by memories of his death, the mortals he held dear, by the dreams he once had. Then the nervous breakdown follows when it's time to reject everything you've believed in. After that it all fades away. You force yourself to forget, to stop feeling anything, anything at all. The elders are capable of everything without a doubt. Cruelty becomes a way to survive, to control, to fight boredom. The elders are vicious and show no mercy while doing what it takes to defend and keep the order in the covens. They stop at nothing in the horrible ways of punishing the violators. But progressive thoughts inevitably fight their way through and revolution would light up the old and rotten beliefs... sooner or later. Selene got up and made her way through a pile of guns and boxes with ammunition, jumping over them to the other side of the room which was supposed to be the living room.

_"Killing is like a powerful drug .The more you have the more you want!" _she thought.

She saw Michael sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. She approached him quietly and sat next to him.

"_Sometimes we seek comfort at most unexpected places. In the shelter of obedience and loyalty, in the jaws of blind revenge, in the eyes of a mortal..."_she thought looking at him.

"Memories of yesterday serve no purpose anymore, they don't cost a thing! I simply forget who I was." she whispered loud enough for him to hear and took his hand in hers." I just wash myself away under the shower. And I start all over again. It is the same thing every day. Just a glance at the truth because I can't recognize it anymore. And I forget about its existence right away. I make the same mistakes. I let it fade away under the pure intention of not going back anymore. What is a person without knowledge of his past, without a care of his future?" she gently put her head on Michael's shoulder and even looked vulnerable saying that.

"Unbreakable.." Michael replied.

"Hollow, Michael! Eternity empties you, it sucks every feeling from your body and leaves you all alone! And you can't stand your own self." she said with a poker face.

"_How does she hide so much pain? How does she hide away from every feeling that exists? I know you are not hollow Selene, just repulsed with your life!" _he thought.

"Sometimes I can't take it! I am tempted to welcome the dawn on a beach somewhere ending it all in silence and in peace! Viktor gave me everything in exchange of obedience. I wanted revenge for my family so badly, I was powered by that, then I wanted Viktor to be proud of me! I needed an excuse to kill as many lycans as I could to try and silence the indignation, the pain. The guiltier I felt the harder I fought to prove myself that I wasn't. But it won't go away!"

"And now? Do you want to kill as many of your kind as you can because one betrayed you? Rampage is not the answer!"

"Isn't there a way to make a life of my own without the guilt, without the pain?"

"I don't know. But your thoughts reveal that you still have a good heart. Humanity even..."he sounded a little insecure saying that, as if it was an insult to her.

"Every night I wake up into the same mistakes I tried to prevent! So much for dignity! May there be no destination so you would never get lost! You are not like me, a lost cause."

"I am not a lost cause? I freaked today by the slightest thing, Selene. I am a hybrid, I don't know anything about the world I've ended up in. On top of it all I wanted to be a doctor and help people but if I refuse to kill I'll be useless and an easy prey! If something happens to you I don't know what I'll do!" he spoke these words with regret.

"You were spooked by your past. It's normal. The underground is where it all started for you and you can't reject the panic of your memories just yet. She was going home anyway and you were tired of following her all day. I'm sure she is OK." a small pause, "Give yourself time to adapt. You have eternity in front of you..."

"Me?"

"I probably won't survive the decade!" she said getting up to her feet and approaching a small ladder hanging from a trap-door in the ceiling."

"Nonsense! Michael said angrily watching her climb up and went after her."

The metal under Selene's bare feet was cold and she shivered as the night wind blew through her baggy T-shirt after she pushed the hatch open.

"Let's be realistic! The death dealers are scanning every inch of the city, torturing everyone who might know where we are. It has begun Michael! And now that I have so much to lose I am too vulnerable!" She stood up on the deck-roof and looked around carefully.

"We are going to survive this I promise you!"he said approaching from behind and hugging her gently to persuade her that she was safe.

He looked in front of him at the ruins of the desolate factory they had been using as shelter for almost a month. It was out of town in the middle of nowhere and it would be the last place the death dealers would look. There were two small buildings, the first, totally destroyed, most likely was used by the staff. The other, which was used by the accountants, was in better shape, thank god and perfect for refuge. It was 2 storeys and a flat roof which served the purpose of a watch tower. A phone rang. Selene reached into the pocket of her black tight jeans and took out a cell phone. She looked at it then at Michael and answered.

"Erica..."

"Is it safe to talk?"

"Yes."

"We have found her! She is in the Zyodex hospital.'

"What did this bastard do to her? I swear I'm gonna rip his heart out and..."

"She is fine! She passed out after drinking enough alcohol to intoxicate a horse. Jesus! Enough with the nervous breakdowns, Selene!"

"What about Craven?" Selene forced herself a calm tone.

"He still doesn't suspect that I've told you, so you are one step ahead of him. But you have to be careful. If you play your cards well we can both get out of this clean."

"I'm already drenched in mud and blood, Erica, there is no way to purify my soul from all its sins!"

"No one else needs to get killed in this!"

"Else!", Selene asked with growing curiosity.

"Craven killed the only friends of your human. She has no one except you now!"

"That pitiful excuse for a vampire, how dares he attack humans! What about her foster parents?"

Michael came closer and put his ear next to the phone so that he could hear the conversation obviously concerned with the consequences of his sloppy first steps as a bodyguard.

"They don't give a fuck! The man is an abusive alcoholic and the woman is jealous of the fresh piece of ass in the house! Listen. Craven ordered his pack of useless so called friends to take her tomorrow night after all the results are ready. They have to verify that she is your relative and then hand her over to the council which will sentence her to death. Everyone who helps you or is connected to you in any way is to expect nothing else but death!"

"The poor child!" Selene answered with grief in her voice and her eyes were about to fill with tears if she hadn't swallowed them and pulled herself together."

"Selene, there is something else you should know!"

"What?" her eyes fixed on a nonexistent dot in midair.

"Well, Marcus woke up but he died immediately after coming out of the hibernation! And the official story is that you have been poisoning him for years so that he could die without your presence during the awakening and without raising suspicion on yourself! Now the death dealers of both covens are after you 24/7! The council is very pleased to uncover your plot! By "the council" I mean, well, I mean Craven! You see how desperate the situation is? And now Craven can go back to the coven like a hero because everyone aware of his previous treachery except you, me and the hybrid are dead! But he has to bring the girl as a trophy. And gain back some of the fragile respect you shattered in your last blaze of anger. "

Selene opened her mouth to say something but the wave of anguish overcame her and not a word came out.

Erika continued, "But as much as I don't want to believe that our noble kind is capable of such decadence..."

"Get to the fucking point already!" Selene barked.

"Patience is a virtue! Well it's quite simple! The two covens have started a war between each other. Because the coven overseas somehow wants to wipe us out. I don't know why... maybe because Craven is not only a coward but a lunatic and a moron as well and his politics will ultimately lead us to our demise. He continues to piss off the coven overseas by refusing a union and accusing them of being heretics! Distortion! Your fellow death dealers are fighting to death to protect the bureaucrats as you are used to calling the ones who do not want to have their hearts ripped out ."

Selene was barely breathing but her face remained firm. "You know I'm not responsible for his death!"

"Yes I do."

"Who is going to rule now?"

"They are talking about awakening Ambrosi.."

"Ambrosi, a.k.a The Preacher! But wasn't he sentenced to eternal hibernation? They were not to wake him ever again !"

"He is the only one with the right to rule and with the nerve to take control of the present situation!"

"What about Valerica, she is Markus's daughter she is supposed to rule!"

"She vanished. We think some of Ambrosi's followers might have killed her!"

"Craven is responsible for all of this!"

"I'm not so sure. Don't bet your life on this theory, he is not the criminal mastermind you give him credit for. He is just trying to save his neck. I hope that the Preacher restores some order. It is absolute chaos! There are newly formed vampire gangs attacking humans. Some death dealers are after those gangs but they are very sly and aggressive. Especially "Scarlet well". Humans impute that to serial killers, terrorists and whatever the fuck there is. Thank god the lycans are not a big problem. Most of them deserted now that their leader has been killed, went in hiding in foreign countries. Some unfortunately have joined the outlaw vampire gangs and others are more likely to strike when the coven weakens .Every law has been broken Selene! It doesn't matter if you are a lycan or a vampire anymore if you are not capable of defending yourself you are most certainly going down in flames! It's total anarchy! It's exactly what Viktor was afraid was going to happen. It is every man for himself and everybody against you.

"_What do you know about what Viktor feared? While we were out risking everything you were too busy sharpening your manicure on the wallpaper!__!" _Selene thought as anger rose inside her making her pulse accelerate.

"What is the selfish reason for which you are helping me? "

"I've got my reasons, believe me. I want Craven to fail getting what he wants .I want him to understand what it is like to be powerless to get what you desire most!"

"And what is that?"

"He wants you to suffer.. or love him..."

"Well, we all know the second thing will never happen considering how much I want him murdered!" she spoke the last word through clenched teeth.

"You promised me..."

"But I won't kill him just like I've promised! OK?" " _"Just torture him to madness!" _she thought.

"6 floor last room on the right. There is no elevator to this floor so you will have to use the stairs. See you tomorrow after sunset!" Erica didn't wait for an answer and hung up.

"They killed her friends and her foster parents will be glad to get rid of her so we'll have to take care of her! A socially deprived menace is about to be awakened who will mostly complicate the god damn situation." she filled the gaps of the conversation Michael had overheard." We are leaving immediately!" she ordered with a noticeable note of discomfort in her voice.

"There is a fine line between bravery and foolishness but you are entering the suicide part and I'm sane enough to tell you it's not wise!"

He watched her storm down the ladder into the living room and of course followed her with more substantial reasons.

"The death dealers are probably patrolling everywhere. Do you think it's wise to serve our heads on a silver platter for them?" he tried to talk some sense into her and got angry when she started loading her guns.

"Why not? We've done it before.." she said with a cold voice not taking her eyes off of what she was doing.

"This smells like a well prepared trap." he took one gun out of her hands and threw it on the floor as she grabbed another.

"You know best!" she dropped the gun and turned so that her face would level Michael's. "Why don't you take another good sniff at your crystal ball and tell me what does the future smell like for Jasmine if we abandon her in a hospital owned by the coven? I'm not saying that it's not a trap, I just can't leave her to be tortured to death."

"And I'm just saying that we have to be prepared for everything, and that we have to leave tomorrow, not tonight. At least you have to be able to escape. We need time and if we go now you might be stranded in there when the sun rises."

"I have been doing this job for centuries, I know what I'm doing! It's the element of surprise that we have to take advantage of! They are not expecting us till tomorrow night. Please, if there is any chance to save her it's now or never."

Michael hesitated then took a gun from the ground and started loading it without looking at her.

"Thank you! Victor used to say that a true warrior knows where death waits and he is not afraid to walk towards it! This war has nothing to do with you and I will understand if you don't want to be a part of it! But I won't stop going on ahead even if it is towards the antichrist himself!"

"And I'll be with you every step of the way! It was my fault that those kids were killed I'm sorry!" He looked down .

"Don't blame yourself, sooner or later he would have got to them. He is still the same vile coward!"

She took the T-shirt off and put on a bullet proof vest which looked like a corset and a black sweater over it. She took her raincoat and 2 guns with enough ammo and followed Michael to the car parked outside.

"I'm driving!" he told her forcing himself to smile.

He started the car and as he switched gear he asked Selene carefully as if he was going to be burned by her answer.

"What exactly is the situation?"

"If they awake Ambrosi we are fucked!"

"Who is he?"

"He was an Italian inquisitor, before he became a vampire. A legend, a story to scare my kind like the stories about the boogey man scare children. With the exception that Ambrosi's story is true. After he became a vampire he was invited to join my ex-coven by Victor who was impressed by the reputation of the inquisitor. That was what the coven needed, a fanatic for obeying rules. He quickly moved up the hierarchy and even was given the right to rule the coven! Of course it all went out of control. He sentenced more vampires to execution than have ever been killed in the war with lycans. At first with Victor's blessing but when he started to lose control he was forced to take certain actions. Treason...Ambrosi went into hibernation not suspecting that the plan was to be kept like that for eternity!

"Why do you call him the Preacher?"

"Because he brainwashed my kind and made it kill its own children, wives and husbands. In the name of order he smothered all loyalty and love. He preached us skillfully to our death!"

It was a bumpy road ahead and the car bounced along the old and affected by the ravages of time pavement. The sky was drowning in the light of a silvery full moon with a scarlet ring around it. A sign for trouble or death. No amulet could protect Selene and Michael of the horrible turns their fate was about to take...

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	3. Brutal impact

**Brutal impact**

Selene reached for the door handle but her hand froze half-way to the door.

"_So far so good."_she calmed herself downAnd took a deep breath.

They got in unnoticed by security through a window on the first floor which turned out to be the window to the toilets in the west wing. That was good luck which depressed Selene even more. "I _should have thought of that !Damn it, we can't allow ourselves to count on good luck! It's going to get us killed!" _The window was too high for a human to reach but for these two it was a piece of cake.

Michael could see that his beloved vampire was nervous and he was pleased by that. _"She is so beautiful when she is anticipating something."_

"We'll see how it goes!" Selene murmured and seized the handle opening the door very fast and entering with the speed of light giving herself enough time to check the perimeter for attackers. There was only a bed in the room and there she was, tied up to it...

"Jasmine!" Selene said astounded and kneeled like a pilgrim in front of a magnificent statue of the god she worshiped. The two looked at each other.

"I know you! You...Is your name Selene?"

"Yes..."

"You've got to be shitting me!" Jasmine couldn't understand what was happening with her but she felt like she knew that woman. Except there was something different about her, something scary and cruel. Sharp long teeth, pale skin, the posture of a predator. And yet this creature because it was obvious that she wasn't human when you are that close was not threatening Jasmine in any way. The girl had a feeling that if she just blew with her mouth the dark haired woman will collapse.

Selene was just standing two steps in front of the door with a silly smile on her face while Michael was already trying to untie Mint.

_"She doesn't have the features typical for our family .I guess they got lost through the generations. "_Selene thought staring without any shame.

Opposite the vampire stood a young red-haired girl. Her thick hair was short, barely touching her shoulders. It was falling freely in front of her brown eyes as if to cover the secrets floating in them and hide the suspicion branded into the irises themselves still flashing with unknown heat. The girl was not too thin, enough to look graceful but with a strong body advertising it's capability of hitting to knock out. She had a bold look on her freckled face. It was not innocent, it was defiled by all the shit in it's owner's life. Jasmine didn't have that breath-taking beauty but she wasn't plain either. It wasn't because of her appearance. Her body was quite irresistible, she had a perfect smile and a small pointy nose. Maybe she lacked the sparkle of a person who is in love or caring or being loved in her heart. She missed that affectionate look that would lift her up to the level of beauty. She was cold and distant.

"What are you?"

"I am a friend. Don't be afraid I won't hurt you I've come to help. You know my name?"

"I have no idea how. Wanna hear something crazy? I feel like I've seen you before...in another life...Uhh...Turn around I want to take this thing off and put my own clothes on."

Jasmine quickly put on dark red baggy jeans with a chain hanging from the left pocket attached to the back pocket, a black tight shirt which revealed a tattoo around her navel -"I DO NOT SEARCH,I FIND".A leather jacket, black sneakers and four massive silver rings (two on each hand) followed. She was tall and those clothes looked good on her.

"Let's get out of here. Will talk later..."

Selene felt a bullet sore beside her ear sharpening her reflexes instantly. She took a huge step in the right covering her face with her hands as a rain of bullets followed and almost automatically yelled. "Keep cover!"

"And you said I was paranoid!"Michael yelled pushing Jasmine in the corner of the room which was the farthest place from the shooting. Then he took the bed and positioned it as a shield to the bullets. The bed was hard and heavy metal with a mechanism to bend according to the patient's needs and the red-haired girl was surprised that he could lift it and put it sideways.

Selene shouted something at Michael that he didn't hear because an explosion followed that blew her into the corridor. Someone grabbed the vampire and made her stand on her feet.

"There, there, you won't let a simple hand grenade keep you from what you want!"

Selene was so shocked by the presence of this man that she didn't even greet him.

"The blue guy's with me!"

"Roger that."

The vampire pulled her two guns out with rage as death dealers started to shoot at her from both sides of the corridor. There were shreds of the walls flying, blocking her sight and on top of it all she tripped into a wheel-chair that was probably blown on the floor by the impact. Ducking slightly still on her knees she hit someone in the balls shooting without looking who was in front of her. Alystor covered Selene by shooting so that she could slip back into the room that she was blown from previously, and followed her inside.

"Michael, Jasmine?"

"We are trapped! Michael hissed after finishing with the transformation. He instantly jumped at Alystor as he came in, pushing him to the floor."

"No, he's on our side!"

Alystor kicked him off and as if nothing had happened tried to close the door. That didn't work because the door was with a blown lock and was also hanging at one side threatening to fall any moment.

"Lousy idea. I feel like I'm in a fucking western."Alystor made a grimace of fake indignation which caused Jasmine to smile a bit behind her sanctuary.

"They must have seen us on the cameras." Selene said looking around.

"Well, they were waiting for someone but I didn't know who it was and there were two men in the room next to this one guarding me."

"You mention this now?" Michael said angrily.

"It slipped my mind!" Jasmine answered looking at him almost ready to faint seeing him transformed. "What kind of a freak show is this?"

"Thank you I'm mostly flattered!" Michael answered clearly offended.

"Let's try and get to the stairs ..."Selene suggested while pushing both of her male companions away as the scenery in front of them exploded gracefully.

"We might get to them but certainly not in one piece." Alystor didn't lose his nerve and what was most unusual, he seemed to enjoy this deadly thrill. His moves were fast but it looked as if he didn't make any kind of effort. He predicted almost every move of the death dealers he could see in front of him before they would make them.

"This is not a walk in the park! "Michael criticized.

"What are you worried about? You are immortal blue guy."

"Well, breaking news! Silver nitrate and U.V bullets!" Selene shouted at the top of her voice.

"Oh, yes, I forgot this insignificant detail. I've been isolated for some time, you know!"

"Yes, stop showing off with your enormous spare time!"

Someone jumped in front of Selene out of nowhere and hit her in the face with his rifle. Then pointed it at her but before he could pull the trigger he was already dead, decapitated by Alystor.

"Good to see you're still the gentleman you where 100 years ago!" She said that in an undertone and then raised her voice a bit adding, "That's a big sword you've got there." She glanced at the weapon one more time wondering where she had seen it before.

"I'm not trying to compensate for anything if that's what you are implying!"The white-haired man sighed while taking the gun that belonged to the guy who tried to kill his teacher and shooting three death dealers at a time."You bastards are like cock-roaches! You just won't stop coming out from the drain!" he roared.Then pretended to be revolted and stopped for a second to see what the others were doing.

Michael was practically suspending gravity by jumping all around attacking everyone within his reach and performing acrobatic moves, successfully keeping Jasmine safe.

"He's having fun!" Alystor shook his head in the direction of the massacre.

The room was big enough for the events taking place in it but the bullets coming through the walls were certainly a big problem. He opened the window and gave out an order. "Jump!"

"Are you crazy? I'm gonna break my fucking neck!" Mint's voice made its way through the loud noises.

"Come here, wrap your arms around me and don't worry...we'll only break our legs!" Alystor said with a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, I'm so pleased to hear that!" The girl answered doing what he said.

Then they jumped...

"This is so fucked up! God, it hurts, ohhh..."Jasmine was cursing while sitting and looking at the ground pleased to see it that close.

"Nothing broken. Everything is fine then?" Alystor made an observation .

"Yeah, right! Everything is great! Just wait a sec till I get your boot out of my ass!" Mint snored.

Selene quickly pulled the girl up, grabbed her hand and started running when a van approached clearly packed with death dealers.

"Isn't that backup? Why are we running?"

"Because it is obviously not our back up, child." Alystor said.

"The chapel!"

"What?" Selene asked Mint looking at her with blue icy eyes.

Taking a moment to shake off the commotion caused by these eyes storming her mind, Jasmine cleared her throat and answered. "There's a chapel a block from here where we can hide!" She could smell something was burning. There was a sharp smell of petrol and a black cloud rising up from what looked like a car.

"Lead the way!" Selene said furious that their car was now junk.

They turned into a dark alley, losing the van but everyone knew it wasn't going to be for long. Finding the chapel was easy, getting in-a little harder because of the locked heavy wooden door. Using nothing else but a hairpin Mint got in. "There you go!" She said with great pleasure.

It was a small round chapel with enormous windows 10 cms. one from another about an inch from the floor, painted in red, yellow and blue wrapping the place .There was a high ceiling giving space to the chapel. A small stone fountain was in the middle of it. The rest of the interior was irrelevant and nobody paid attention to the details.

"Charming! "I especially love the BIG WINDOWS!" Michael shouted.

Selene crashed on one of the chairs close to the altar."I've got to think for a moment!" she pushed her hair back and looked around. She laid her eyes on a beautiful crucifix of Jesus hanging on the wall above her head. He was looking up with his mouth slightly opened to show he is praying. His body was covered in his own blood. It was glittering and his wounds were what held Selene's attention that long. She was a believer. Once...She had prayed every night before bed and every day before she would take a bite from the food on her family's table. She prayed the night they were murdered. She begged God, bargained, offered her life in exchange...for the last time...Then they died and she stopped believing in sacrifice, in a higher power, in virtue.Selene closed her eyes breathed deeply, took a second to enjoy the cool air filling her lungs then turned her head towards Alystor and stabbed him with a piercing look. He stood in front of her waiting for a decision or an order. She grasped the chair she was sitting on and smashed it into his chest before he could react.

"Still not glad to see me I suppose!" He muttered coughing.

"Great, she flipped!" Mint said helping Alystor up.

"What are you doing with Viktor's sword?" Selene unleashed a great deal of rage which shocked everyone.

"Selene it's not what it looks like!" He stepped back as she started approaching.

"There is steam coming out of her nostrils, man! She is ready to wipe you out!" Jasmine said backing up with him.

"There are two swords like that. I mean identical. This one belonged to Ambrosi! It was a birthday gift from Viktor!I stole it when I ran away, Slee."He explained calmly. Control your temper. As much as I am considered to be a gentleman next time I will hit you back!"

"I believe him. Just look at those honest uhh, red eyes! They don't lie!" Mint took the place of a peacemaker between the two.

"I don't have time for this! Fighting like children is not what I had in mind! I have to talk to Jasmine!" Alystor said. "Sit down," he pushed her into a chair, "and listen carefully. Do you know what you are?"

"Uuhh...Is that a trick question?"

"You are a shade, like me!"

"You are all nut cases!"

"OK we don't have time for the long version so here is the short one." He looked at the door.

In the meantime Michael was searching for something to cover the windows trashing the place not caring that it was after all a church.

Mint tried to make another spicy remark about Alystor's mental health but she was ticked off.

"SILENCE! Vampires truly exist not just in the perverted imagination of schizophrenic writers but in reality too. Most people die within an hour after being bitten by a vampire because the viruses they transmit are deadly. The normal human organism can't fight them. But there are some people whose immune system is different, stronger. They manage to slow the process of dying. With a day, month and sometimes years. Those people remain human and are carriers of the viruses with which they infect their offspring...What? Am I speaking Chinese?" he was reasonably bothered by the look on Jasmine's face.

"They are called shades. So, the disease spread from Selene's niece, to her ancestors through the generations and it was passed to you. Your consciousness contains the memories of all the people born after Selene's niece. It's not possible to always control the visions and they are often painful."

"You are my relative!" She turned to Selene, "And you are a vampire?"

"Shades have visions of the future and..."Alystor began but was interrupted.

"I'm something like a video archive!" She continued with mistrust. _"This explains a lot! It's not possible! But it is happenin__g !Wait! "_she thought confused. "You are wrong! I see the past!"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I saw the night of the uhhh, murders of her family, I think."

"Interesting! I've heard of that but never thought it was true. Extremely valuable recordings of the people of her family tree, of everyone born after her, including her own memories. "He was talking to himself. "Fascinating! Now straight to the point!" Alystor clapped his hands. "You are dying!"

"What? I'm what?"

"Yeah, what?" Selene asked as the floor beneath her feet seemed to have disappeared causing her to lose balance for a second.

"You didn't know that, Slee?" Alystor was surprised. And yet he never discussed the nature of his mutations with Selene.

"Hello! Explanation please!" Mint felt a large lump in her throat, like a hairball choking her. The walls started narrowing and she felt trapped in a small box.

"Well with every generation the process is faster and I saw the results of your tests and it's bad. The viruses are destroying your immune system fast and the first infection or cold will kill you because your organism won't be able to fight it. It's dangerously weakened. If you don't catch a cold you will develop meningitis and die!"

Mint opened her mouth, blinking, her left hand pointing at him, the right one rubbing her forehead and her head performing the moves of the pendulum of a grandfather clock. She acted as if she was standing in front of the results of a nuclear explosion.

There was a knock on the door. Correction...someone was trying to knock the door down. Michael rushed to it and started pushing."Such a perfect timing! It's not going to hold! Look for an exit! Move!"

"But I feel fine!" Jasmine continued to argue convinced it would make a difference." And what are you? The president of the shadow freak club or something?"

"Shades. You are the first I meet." Alystor said ignoring Michael's panic.

"That makes you an unreliable source. How do you even know if all of that is..."

"Because I am a shade. If you would stop and think for a second you would ask me the most important question. And I would answer...Yes there is a way to live of course. I am standing in front of you which means I'm not dead which means you can live too. Selene has to bite you and you will become undead, officially a shade."

"Time out! Too much information!"

"To become an active shade you have to be bitten by an ancestor who's a vampire. That is why shades are the rarest creatures on this earth. The process of making a shade is very complicated and depends on a series of coincidences and luck and is considered a natural phenomenon. Something like a

solar eclipse or Slee smiling, for example!"

"Stop calling me that! What are we waiting for to get our hearts ripped out? Is that all? I simply bite her and she lives?"

"No! Nobody is biting me! Stay away I ate garlic for lunch!" Jasmine panicked and was no longer paying attention to what came out of her mouth.

"That is a stupid legend, child. As you can see we are in a church and Selene is not hissing with disgust so there is no need to try the whole cross ritual. It's literary rubbish! Slee there are side effects with which you are not familiar. Correct me if I'm wrong but there is a law that no vampire in any circumstance should drink blood from another of his kind." Selene nodded in confirmation and he continued. "If you bite her due to the fact that her blood has mutated and is now vampire blood, you'll receive rupture of your most vital organs. As a man lived through this I'm obliged to inform you that it is quite painful. After that your organs will start regenerating and when the process is completed you will become a mortal..."He waited for a response and when he saw that there wasn't going to be one continued. "But only until her blood dissipates from your organism. Then you will be feverish for a couple of days and after that everything will go back to normal ...for you that is..."He clapped with his hands again and asked "Any questions?"

"How do I wake up...from this nightmare?" Jasmine asked looking at Selene but speaking to Alystor.She looked at this creature and felt a bond. Her eyes were so beautiful with their bright blue colour. They were making Jasmine tremble from the inside with fear. Every part of Selene's body, every detail of her clothes from the black rain coat to the guns was screaming "DEATH". Mint remembered her friend's fate and that made her wonder where all the vital oxygen went. The girl was petrified and every bang on the door was vibrating in her bones. Before she could realize she had already fired the question. "Did you kill Karol and Jason?"

"No it was Kraven. Although I doubt you know who he is."

_"Such a gorgeous face, but so cold. "Jasmine thought looking at the vampire."_

"I love family reunions but we don't have time for this!" Alystor interrupted. He took his sword out and made a sign at Michael that there was no other exit. Selene snapped out of her momentary intensed thinking and took the only bench in the chapel. The only thing they could block the door with. But before she could put her plan into action there was a loud noise then another from an opposite direction and another god knows from where. The death dealers were entering the small chapel through it's windows. There were about 5 guns pointed at Jasmine already and then somebody yelled.

"Put your weapons down or we'll shoot the girl!"

She had no choice. Normally Selene would just start shooting but now she couldn't take the risk.She threw her guns down and kicked them away. Alystor followed. There was silence, not quiet peaceful silence but the type that blows you away that crystallizes every adequate reaction while it is still undeveloped in your head. She looked at the door following the sound of self-confident foot steps and her heart sank almost instantly to the site of the slender man walking towards her. Too many thoughts were racing through Selene's mind, her brain was screaming "Suicidal idea" to every single one of them, her head pounding, her heart beating so fast she was starting to see black spots. Too many questions, too many combinations of what was not logical at all. Too much proof for this horrid delirium, pointing to the conclusion that it was in fact real. She knew that man, she could never forget.

Alystor's body shook then he spread his hands like he was preparing to hug somebody or like he was being crucified and looked up, his eyes turning black. Then he fell on his knees and after his eyes turned red again he whispered exhausted but coming to his senses.

"One drop for everything that she is not,

One fate for the sins that she has made..."

He narrowed his eyes and spoke to the tall man. "The devil whispers in your master's ears! If you do this you will sell your soul to him!"

"I will do what must be done. I will paint the marble of this church with your blood and fill this fountain with Selene's and Jasmine's so that my master can wash his feet in it!"

"You! But how? You are dead, you were mortal! You should have died centuries ago!" Selene shouted.

"Surprised to see me? What? No sympathy for the devil?"( Har, har...) "His laughter was similar to how a pirate would laugh. "If I didn't know you better I would say you are afraid!"

The man approached Selene. He slapped her in the face. A hit with his elbow in the face followed which knocked her on the floor. He was hitting and hitting savagely, kicking her in the stomach in the head in the ribs breaking them. Blood spurt from her mouth and nose. He bended a little just to take a good grip of her hair and pull his victim up. That caused Selene incredible pain and she bit her lip to contain her screams.

"Fight back, you are pathetic! You see that your life is in my hands now. Just like your family's lives were then. Remember what happened then?" He rubbed his cheek into hers'."Do you remember you whore? Do you remember their screams? They died because of your pride !" He bit her...His teeth sank deep into her throat...She gave in. Stopped struggling, it was no use.

_"Let him drink! Drink my life away, Serban. Deliver me from all of this guilt and pain! Michael is going to take care of Jasmine."_

After he finished drinking he threw her on the floor like a useless rag. She was barely conscious but still breathing.

Michael managed to free himself from the two death dealers holding him and just as he was ready to strike Serban when he was shot in the back.

"Cease fire!" Serban gave Michael an "I want to rip your heart out and watch it beat in my hand" type of a look then took the cross-bow he was carrying on his back and shot 20 times. He made sure Michael wasn't moving and after he finished with him turned around.

"I'm sorry! I hope I didn't make you feel neglected my dear! Such a pretty flower, what are you doing with the rogues?"

"Fucking asshole, what do you want from us? You touch me I'm going to kill you I swear it!" She was suddenly struck by an enlightenment. "It was you wasn't it? You killed Jason and Karol."

"Which reminds me! Rooster get the squirt in here!"

Rooster nodded and after a few minutes brought in a man and took the blindfold off his eyes leaving the duck tape on his mouth.

"May I have the pleasure to introduce you? Jasmine this is Kraven. Kraven -Jasmine! He is the one who killed the humans but I suppose Selene already told you." He smiled. "Honey! Come join us!" He spoke to Erica when she came in. They kissed in front of Kraven whose face was a tomato red colour. "You are so easy to manipulate, Kraven, every plan that you came up with Erica reported to me and to Selene. Selene, oh Selene. Look at me! Are you awake? Of course you are! You fell right into my trap! You didn't see that one coming did you?"

"I just gave you the information of what the other one is doing and that was enough for you to perform your little quests." Erica said seriously.

"Michael !"Selene was crying quietly and humbly. But inside her the hate grew stronger, devouring every other feeling. "No..."She hit the floor with hands. Then her attention was occupied by the once again approaching torturer.

"Bitch..."She murmured trying to take her hand from under Serban's boot.

"Come on...You can do better than that! Nail her!" He shouted pointing at Mint.He took a gun from one of the death dealers, pointed it at Erica and fired."I hate traitors, honey." Watched her burn then snapped with fingers and pointed at Alystor. "We might need that one. Knock him down and lock him in the van Rooster...But before that..."He looked Kraven in the eyes, "I don't like you! Tie him up in front of a window Rooster! Wait! Give me that sword! It belongs to my master!"

Selene was seriously puzzled. She couldn't understand what kind of a torture machine they were preparing. And then it struck her. She skipped a heart beat.

"Don't touch her! You want me! She is still a child, have some mercy!"

"Did I hear correct? Selene is begging? Are you begging, Selene?" Serban was deriding.

"Fuck you!" Selene tried to get up but failed and her efforts made Serban laugh with satisfaction.

He barked another order that Selene and Mint didn't hear but it became clear soon enough when the death dealers shattered the few windows that were in one piece by shooting. Serban took Alystor's sword then started slowly walking towards Selene whistling some kind of a march. The 10 steps he made felt like 100 for Selene and she could now picture her death. She was weak, couldn't move, couldn't even speak. Too much guilt. She deserved that punishment. But not from him. He stopped and smiled at her diabolically then stabbed her left leg above the knee, twisting the blade. He performed exactly the same procedure with her other leg and walked away ignoring Jasmine's threats, curses and promises. Selene didn't scream. She didn't even breath out. Holding her breath for a couple of seconds in order to adapt to the horrible pain she simply laid back and turned her head to look at Michael's mutilated body. The ache in her heart was stronger, deeper then any physical torture that imagination could come up with.

Two death dealers grabbed Mint and slammed her with brutality in the wall behind the altar the crucifix falling on the floor and breaking into shreds. One of the men was holding her body leaned against the wall with her hands spread. Another approached carrying something in his hands.

"Tacks?" Jasmine nearly fainted by their sight. They were enormous. "Tough shit! Come on boys I'm sure we can think of something less... messy!"

She started kicking, and twisting her body. One of the death dealers slammed her head into the wall .A couple of seconds later the first tack was hammered in her rist. And the girl lost consciousness. That made it easier to drive in the tack into her other wrist. Her wounds bled, the blood soaking in her clothes, running down her body, making a puddle on the floor.

Selene smelled the vital liquid and hunger overtook her. Every cell in her body was aching to taste blood, to feed, to regenerate. She couldn't repress the longing and it turned into torture because she couldn't get up. "_I musn't!Musn't move! Thankfully I can't move !I can't move ,I won't move!"_

"Enjoy her crucifixion Selene! It will be the last thing you will see! It's sunrise time!" Serban walked away with his suite laughing.

It was Selene's and Mint's execution night. Jasmine was going to bleed to death .And as for Selene, she would probably be burned by the fist beams of the scorching sun.

Someone else felt the scent of blood too...Michael breathed in and stood up taking arrows out of his body. Walking hypnotized towards the unconscious girl there was only one thought in his mind, controlled by hunger, driven by his instinct- "_drink blood"._

The sun was rising slowly and Kraven was desperately trying to untie his hands and get away from the window. It was no use but he continued pulling and twisting .Ignoring the tragic scene behind him he was crying in his despair. "_It can't end like this !It's not fair!" _He screamed_. "_It can't end this way!"

"Michael, don't! Not her! Do you hear me? You have to resist." Selene shouted...

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End file.
